Written Answers Thursday 22 February 2007

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of "dawn to dusk cover" was operated by each operational division of the Scottish Ambulance Service at 13 February in each year from 2000 to 2007, broken down by day of the week, shift time and number of vehicles.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of "dusk to dawn cover" was operated by each operational division of the Scottish Ambulance Service at 13 February in each year from 2000 to 2007, broken down by day of the week, shift time and number of vehicles.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Scottish Ambulance Service calculates average response times across Scotland.

Mr Andy Kerr: Response times are calculated from the time the main patient complaint is established to the time the first ambulance resource arrives at the scene. Average response times are calculated by dividing the total number of incidents by the total of the response times.

Ambulance Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what commitments it has made since 1999 in respect of the ambulance service, with specific reference to the staffing of ambulances by paramedics.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will guarantee that every ambulance will be staffed by at least one paramedic.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it appropriate that the Scottish Ambulance Service does not collate statistics on the balance of staffing in ambulances between paramedics and technicians and what effect this has on the Executive’s ability to deliver on the key health commitments in its Delivering for Health programme.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Ambulance Service’s objective was to have a paramedic on board every frontline ambulance by the end of March 2005.

  The Health Department has been monitoring the implementation of the service’s paramedic training programme. The objective of the programme has been to increase and alter the frontline staffing mix to provide for between 55% and 60% of frontline emergency staff being paramedics (the balance technicians). As at the end of March 2006, out of 2,146 frontline staff across Scotland there were 1,204 paramedics (56.1% of frontline staff). The comparable March 1999 figures were 1,750 front-line staff of whom 597 (34.1%) were paramedics.Whilst this staffing mix should enable the ambulance service to deploy a paramedic to all calls that require such a response, it has in recent months introduced nearly 100 additional technicians in Glasgow and Lanarkshire. This influx of staff has skewed the ratio of technicians to paramedics meaning that currently there are seven technicians out of a staff of 30 who may be deployed on rapid response units, while other technicians are being trained up to paramedic level. The ambulance service plans to regain the appropriate skill mix by December 2007.The ambulance service deploys the most appropriate resource to an emergency call, and in relation to Category A (life-threatening) calls, the policy provides for this to be a paramedic response, whether that paramedic is in a single manned rapid response unit or is part of a double crewed ambulance. There may however be exceptional circumstances when, owing to short notice sick absences or other situations, the choice is whether to deploy a rapid response unit manned by a technician or to run with one less emergency resource for that particular shift.

Ambulance Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how quality of service is assessed in the Scottish Ambulance Service, given that information on the balance of staffing in ambulances between paramedics and technicians is not collated.

Mr Andy Kerr: The operational and financial performance of the Scottish Ambulance Service is the subject of continuous monitoring both by the service itself and by the Health Department. The Local Delivery Plan and specifically the health, efficiency, access and treatment objectives provide a key focus for performance management.

  The quality of service provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service is also reviewed by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. Each Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre has gained ISO 9002. The Scottish Ambulance Service College is accredited by the Institute of Healthcare Development. Patient surveys are undertaken and an annual assessment is carried out using the European Foundation Quality Model.

Ambulance Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it makes informed decisions in respect of acute service reorganisation, such as the closure of accident and emergency units, if it does not have access to information on the quantity and quality of ambulance resources available.

Mr Andy Kerr: Prime responsibility for planning and consulting on acute services reorganisation lies with NHS boards. In doing so, they are guided by the Scottish Executive’s health care policies, including Delivering for Health , which aims to ensure that the service anticipates and responds strategically to changing demands and to longer term developments in care and treatment.

  Boards are statutorily required to collaborate with neighbouring boards and with relevant special health boards such as the Scottish Ambulance Service when developing plans to reorganise services. Where such plans might impact on ambulance service provision then boards will discuss the implications, including issues such as the current levels of ambulance services and the prospective levels expected to be in place when the service change takes place.

Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many private landlords are registered under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Des McNulty: The following table shows the number of private landlords and letting agents approved for registration by each local authority, and the number of applications awaiting determination, as at 31 January 2007. Landlords and agents are required to register in each authority where they own or manage property, so these figures include multiple registrations for some individuals or organisations.

  

Local Authority
Approved Registrations
Applications


Aberdeen City
1,096
5,787


Aberdeenshire
552
2,434


Angus
243
1,338


Argyll and Bute
0
1,918


Clackmannanshire
0
439


Dumfries and Galloway
459
2,348


Dundee City
0
2,833


East Ayrshire
0
1,121


East Dunbartonshire
26
662


East Lothian
14
1,429


East Renfrewshire
0
683


Edinburgh, City of
0
17,469


Eilean Siar
28
251


Falkirk
1,029
1,033


Fife
0
5,030


Glasgow City
0
10,718


Highland
0
3,694


Inverclyde
0
921


Midlothian
0
727


Moray
0
1,155


North Ayrshire
0
1,178


North Lanarkshire
527
1,355


Orkney Islands
636
94


Perth and Kinross
707
2,902


Renfrewshire
16
1,571


Scottish Borders, The
0
2,373


Shetland Islands
72
162


South Ayrshire
586
943


South Lanarkshire
13
2,840


Stirling
0
1,690


West Dunbartonshire
14
509


West Lothian
773
904


Scotland
6,794
78,508

Drug Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been provided for needle exchange facilities in each of the last three financial years and the current financial year.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive allocates funding to NHS boards for blood-borne virus prevention work. These funds are used in a number of ways, including the provision of needle exchange facilities to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses through the sharing of dirty injecting equipment.

  Scottish Executive blood-borne virus prevention funding for each of the last three financial years and the current financial year is set out in the following table:

  Blood-borne virus prevention funding:

  

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


£8.1 million
£8.1 million
£8.4 million
£8.6 million



  In addition to the blood-borne virus prevention funding outlined above, NHS boards will receive an additional £4 million over a two year period to support implementation of the Hepatitis C Action Plan for Scotland which includes measures aimed at preventing injecting and helping injectors cease their injecting behaviour.

  NHS boards may provide additional monies to support the provision of needle exchange facilities, but this information is not held centrally.

Education

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has set criteria for designating whether a child is being home educated and, if so, what the criteria are and whether local authorities are required to adhere to them.

Hugh Henry: The Executive issued a comprehensive document entitled Guidance on the Circumstances in Which Parents may Choose to Educate their Children at Home (Bib. number 31676) in March 2004. That guidance was issued under Section 14 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000. Education authorities are required, under the terms of section 14, to have regard to it.

Emergency Planning

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average numbers of people have been that could be processed through decontamination tents in the event of a civil emergency incident involving a "dirty bomb" in each year since 2002, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson:

  Scottish Ambulance Service

  The Scottish Ambulance Service has eight Special Operations Response Teams strategically located across Scotland to provide a swift response to major incidents including terrorist incidents involving the use of a "dirty bomb".

  Each unit is capable of decontaminating 24 ambulant persons per hour. All the equipment was purchased in 2003.

  Fire and Rescue Service

  Since the introduction of the New Dimension programme, eight dedicated mass decontamination units have been provided to seven of the eight Scottish Fire and Rescue Services on a risk and population basis. Each mass decontamination structure is designed to decontaminate a maximum of 200 ambulant persons per hour.

  These are currently distributed on a Fire and Rescue Service (FRA) basis as follows:

  

Central Scotland FRS
1 Unit
Operational 2003


Dumfries and Galloway FRS
1 Unit
 Due to go live 2007


Grampian FRS 
1 Unit
 Operational 2004


Highland and Islands FRS
1 Unit
 Due to go live 2007


Lothian and Borders FRS
1 Unit
 Operational 2004


Strathclyde FRS
2 Units
 1 Unit operational 2003, 2nd unit 2004


Tayside FRS
1 Unit
 Operational 2006

Employment

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Polish people now live in Scotland; how they are dispersed across the country, and in what sectors of the employment market they are employed.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on people resident in Scotland who were born in Poland is available from the Labour Force Survey. However, this data will not capture all Polish people in Scotland, including migrant workers who have arrived in Scotland and may stay here for a short period of time.

  Information on migrant workers from Poland and other A8 Accession countries who have come to Scotland since May 2004 is available in the Accession Monitoring Report May 2004 to December 2006, an online report published by the Home Office’s Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Europe

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31369 by Mr Tom McCabe on 9 February 2007 and in light of the reference in the draft paper, EU Business: Reviews of Engagement with Europe and of EU Office, to "unfortunate examples are where there is no seat for the Minister in the council room during the meeting so they have to follow discussions from the salle d’écoute alongside officials", on which occasions other than in 2006 ministers have had to follow discussions from the salle d’écoute; at which council meetings, and which ministers were involved in each year since 1999.

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31369 by Mr Tom McCabe on 9 February 2007, why the answer related only to 2006 when no timescale was specified in the question.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested for the period before 2006 is not recorded.

Finance

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken in relation to the use of short-term funding initiatives and the subsequent mainstreaming of such funded activities.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has to date not undertaken specific research in relation to the use of short-term funding initiatives and the subsequent mainstreaming of such funded activities. There is however external research by Audit Scotland (2005) and the UK Strategy Unit (2003) which have considered the use of these initiatives by the Executive. Both reports are available at: http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/publications/pdf/2005/05pf08ag.pdf .  http://www.policyhub.gov.uk/docs/rop.pdf .

  The Audit Committee of the Scottish Parliament also considered this issue. The Executive’s response to their report is available at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/audit/reports-06/aur06-01.htm.

  Finally it is Executive policy to evaluate all new spending commitments and any new funding initiatives or pilots would be part of that commitment. Published Executive research is available at the following website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Research/Research/17692/SocialResearchPubs/Introduction.

Firearms

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents involving airguns were recorded from 1999 to 2006 in each police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The number of incidents involving airguns, where a crime or offence was recorded, from 1999 to 2006 are shown in the following table:

  Number of Incidents Recorded by the Police in which an Air Weapon was Alleged to have Been Used, 1999-2000 to 2005-06

  

Police Force Area
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-061


Central
28
29
17
6
11
24
20


Dumfries and Galloway
3
10
24
15
14
21
8


Fife
16
12
19
20
14
6
6


Grampian
45
43
52
44
12
12
9


Lothian and Borders
167
214
104
121
263
309
244


Northern
0
0
2
0
0
0
1


Strathclyde
256
236
80
54
62
63
271


Tayside
40
29
66
36
51
36
35


All 
555
573
364
296
427
471
594



  Note: 1. For 2005-06 returns, all police forces agreed to identify weapons where possible, based on evidence such as type of damage caused, even if the weapons were not recovered. This has resulted in a considerable increase in the alleged use of identified weapons, particularly air weapons, and a decrease in the alleged use of unidentified firearms.

Fisheries

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed on vessels operated by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency; where they received their training before joining their ships, and which organisation is responsible for their terms and conditions of employment.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency employs 133 persons to man their vessels.

  Individuals will have received marine training under the auspices of their previous employers. In the case of officers it will have been either at nautical colleges through their shipping companies or through the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. A similar position exists with the ratings who will also have attended nautical colleges to receive their marine training.

  Fisheries training for officers and ratings is delivered "in-house" through a mixture of specialised training courses and the shadowing of experienced officers carrying out their enforcement duties.

  The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency is responsible for their terms and conditions of employment.

Football

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out on the economic impact on Scotland of England hosting the UEFA European Football Championships in 1996.

Patricia Ferguson: As far as we can ascertain, no research was carried out on the economic benefits to Scotland of England hosting the UEFA European Football Championships in 1996.

Football

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of any economic benefits to Scotland of England hosting the European Football Championships in 1996.

Patricia Ferguson: As far as we can ascertain, no research was carried out, and the Executive is therefore unable to provide a breakdown of any economic benefits to Scotland of England hosting the European Football Championships in 1996.

Genetically Modified Crops

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place to monitor the introduction of genetically modified crops to farms in Scotland and whether it has any information on any penetration by seeds of the Roundup Ready canola genetically modified variety of rapeseed patented by Monsanto Inc.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has said it will consult on statutory measures for the coexistence of GM and other crops, before any commercial cultivation takes place.

  The Scottish Executive has no information on any penetration of seeds of the genetically modified Roundup Ready oilseed rape patented by Monsanto Inc.

Homelessness

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many affordable rented homes it intends will be built by 2012 to meet its aim of abolishing all unintentional homelessness by then.

Rhona Brankin: Our £1.2 billion programme is providing 21,500 good quality affordable homes over the current three year spending period. Decisions on spending beyond 2008 will be taken by the next administration. We are determined to maintain progress and remain committed to the target of providing a permanent home for all unintentionally homeless people by 2012.

Housing

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many empty dwellings there were in each local authority area in the most recent year for which information is available.

George Lyon: Comprehensive information about empty dwellings is not available. Council tax billing systems provide information on each dwelling in Scotland and identify dwellings entitled to exemption or discounts. Specific discounts and exemptions are available for dwellings which are vacant or second homes. The latest statistics on such dwellings (including also a small number of dwellings entirely occupied by people who are "disregarded" for council tax purposes), published by the General Register Office for Scotland, are shown in the following table:

  Dwellings Entitled to Certain Council Tax Exemption/Discounts, Including Second Homes and Vacant Dwellings, September 2005

  

Local Authority
Number of Dwellings


Aberdeen City
5,574


Aberdeenshire
4,681


Angus
2,756


Argyll and Bute
5,042


Clackmannanshire
794


Dumfries and Galloway
3,331


Dundee City
4,822


East Ayrshire
1,286


East Dunbartonshire
547


East Lothian
1,419


East Renfrewshire
883


Edinburgh, City of
8,734


Eilean Siar
1,866


Falkirk
2,069


Fife
7,122


Glasgow City
15,911


Highland
9,444


Inverclyde
2,368


Midlothian
522


Moray
2,021


North Ayrshire
2,897


North Lanarkshire
2,266


Orkney Isles
785


Perth and Kinross
3,817


Renfrewshire
2,909


Scottish Borders
3,263


Shetland
768


South Ayrshire
1,534


South Lanarkshire
3,500


Stirling
1,648


West Dunbartonshire
1,508


West Lothian
1,163


Scotland
107,250



  Notes:

  1. These figures include:

  - Unoccupied dwellings that are exempt from council tax.

  - Dwellings subject to second home or long-term empty property discount.

  - A small number of dwellings occupied entirely by adults who are "disregarded" for the purpose of paying council tax, such as adults who are severely mentally impaired.

  2. The figures may fluctuate for two main reasons:

  - Self-catering holiday accommodation available to let for less than 140 days per year may be recorded either as an unoccupied dwelling (and included in these figures) or as a business.

  - There can be delays in updating the information on council tax.

  3. Source: GROS household estimates: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/household-estimates-projections/household-estimates-for-scotland-by-local-authority-1991-to-2005/index.html.

Income

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what average earnings were in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Nicol Stephen: The preferred source for earnings estimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics. The latest earnings estimates available are for April 2006.

  I have placed tables from ASHE containing the median gross weekly full-time earnings by local authority area for 1999-2006 in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 41935).

  The data are based on place of work as place of residence statistics are not available prior to 2002.

Information Technology

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that all households continue to have access to the internet in the event of internet service providers discontinuing dial-up connections.

Nicol Stephen: Telecoms regulation is reserved and the issue raised is a matter for OFCOM.

NHS Staff

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30653 by Mr Andy Kerr on 23 January 2007, what outcome measures it will use to assess the effectiveness of the new model of community nursing in the pilot NHS board areas.

Mr Andy Kerr: The impact of the new model will be independently evaluated. The evaluation will measure not only nurses’ contribution to meeting the aims of Delivering for Health, but also the experiences of individuals, families, communities, nurses and professional colleagues.

NHS Staff

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30653 by Mr Andy Kerr on 23 January 2007, whether it considers that a two-year pilot will be sufficient to assess the effects of the change to the new model of community nursing.

Mr Andy Kerr: In the first instance we are looking at progress over two years in the development sites. If the model is rolled out more widely further evaluation will take place on an on-going basis.

NHS Staff

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30653 by Mr Andy Kerr on 23 January 2007, whether it will await the evaluation of the new model of community nursing in the pilot areas before rolling out the model elsewhere.

Mr Andy Kerr: Decisions on whether to roll out the model more widely will be made once the two year development project across four board areas is completed.

Pollution

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31493 by Sarah Boyack on 6 February 2007, what estimate it has made of the total cost to the agricultural sector of implementing Integrated Pollution Prevention Control measures.

Sarah Boyack: The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive impacts on a number of activities within the agricultural sector. This includes the treatment of animal and vegetable matter and milk processing. The largest impact is in the intensive farming sector.

  A Regulatory Impact Assessment, completed in 2000, estimated in general terms the cost to industry of complying with IPPC. A separate UK study jointly funded by the Scottish Executive in 2006 reviewed the costs associated with obtaining PPC permits. While this did not estimate the total cost to the agricultural sector, typical costs per intensive farming unit in Northern Ireland were found to range between £500 and £1,000 for one-off application preparation costs, £500 to £10,000 for capital investment, and £500 to £1,000 for one-off management time costs. However, these findings were based on a very small sample size and the figures may not be representative of all intensive farming sites under IPPC. In addition, operators are required to pay charges to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency which vary depending on the size of the installation.

Pollution

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32426 by Ross Finnie on 16 December 2002, whether it will provide subsequent test results for the listed groundwater monitoring sites within Aberdeenshire and Banffshire and the dates on which they were tested.

Ross Finnie: I am arranging for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to send the relevant data to you and will place it in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Bib. number 41944).

Public Private Partnerships

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken, or intends to undertake, into the possible detrimental effects on children’s health and educational attainment of schools built under PPP contracts.

Hugh Henry: Education authorities have, and have access to, a wide range of experience and expertise in relation to school buildings whether constructed under PPP or any other means of procurement. The significant ongoing investment in the school estate is now providing greatly improved school facilities to help create a learning and teaching environment in which young people get the best opportunities to realise their full potential. The Scottish Executive encourages authorities to evaluate all new schools, however procured, to see how well they are meeting the needs of users.

Public Private Partnerships

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what role Architecture and Design Scotland has in schools built under PPP contracts.

Hugh Henry: Architecture and Design Scotland was established as an advisory non-departmental public body in April 2005. Its role, set out in Scottish Planning Policy 20, is to provide independent advice on new development through its design review and enabling functions. It has already provided advice on several local authority school building projects, including some being procured through PPP.

Public Private Partnerships

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken, or intends to undertake, into whether schools built under PPP contracts offer value for money.

Hugh Henry: All PPP projects, including schools projects, must each demonstrate value for money against a conventional procurement approach when compared on a risk adjusted whole life basis.

Rail Network

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any meetings with the British Transport Police about antisocial behaviour in railway stations and on trains in Scotland and, if so, what (a) was discussed and (b) action was taken as a result.

Johann Lamont: Ministers met with the British Transport Police (BTP) on 24 January 2007. The meeting included discussion of the potential for using community wardens on the rail network and for creating an antisocial behaviour post within the BTP. Further consideration is being given to both matters.

Rail Services

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to concerns regarding toilet facilities on Highland trains.

George Lyon: In our procurement of new rolling stock we will consider the use of controlled emission toilets.

  Transport Scotland have spoken with Network Rail station and track cleaning, particularly at Inverness Station, and have agreed an action plan given the recent concerns.

Residential Care

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the First Minister’s apology on 1 December 2004 to those who, as children, suffered abuse and neglect in residential care homes, it will cease to use the defence of time bar in cases of compensation claims for historic institutional child abuse.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will examine the possibility of legislation to remove the time bar to compensation claims in cases of historic child abuse in residential care homes.

Johann Lamont: Prior to 1984 claims for damages for personal injury were subject to both the three year limitation period and the 20 year long negative prescription. The effect of prescription is to extinguish totally a potential claim so that it no longer exists, whereas limitation imposes a time limit of three years for bringing an action for compensation for personal injury. However, the court has discretion to allow an action to proceed even though it is raised over three years after the incident giving rise to the claim where it thinks it would be equitable to do so. The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1984 removed personal injury actions from the scope of long negative prescription. When the Act came into force on 26 September 1984, all claims where the cause of action arose prior to 26 September 1964 ceased to exist. We have asked the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) to consider certain aspects of the law in relation to both limitation and prescription. The SLC Discussion Paper (Scot Law Com No.132) is available on their website at http://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk . The Executive will carefully consider the SLC Report when it is received before taking decisions on future action.

School Meals

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many schools pupils do not have access to a hot school meal.

Hugh Henry: This information is not held centrally.

Young People

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all projects for young people for which it has provided funding through Perth and Kinross Council since 1999, showing the (a) type of project and (b) amount of funding awarded.

Robert Brown: This is a matter for Perth and Kinross Council. The information requested is not held centrally.

Young People

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all projects for young people for which it has provided funding through Angus Council since 1999, showing the (a) type of project and (b) amount of funding awarded.

Robert Brown: This is a matter for Angus Council. The information requested is not held centrally.